Spader and agitator device for concrete block machines



Feb. 21, 1950 T. B. SANSBURY 22,498,452

' SPADER AND AGITATOR DEVICE FOR CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINES Fild Oct. 24, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

THOMAS 5; 54/v55u/2y R 0 F m% Y m RW u m ww Mum T Q? A s m .Nw T n v R mm A P S Feb. 21, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 24, 194? INVENTOR. THO/1M5 b. SAWSBURY Mm F Feb. 21, 1950 T. B. SANSBURY 2,493,452

SPADER AND AGITATOR DEVICE FOR CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINES Filed Oct. 24, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

THOMAS E. SA/VSBUR) Patented Feb. 21, 1950 SPADER AND AGITATOR-DEVICE FOR CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINES Thomas B. .Sansbury, Orlando. Fla.

Application fi ctober 24, 1947, Serial No. 781,923

I This invention relates to a spader and agitator device for concrete block machines.

In the type of concrete-block machines here-to be considered molds are provided" which are set on pallets, the molds usually being intended to form concrete buildingblockshaving hollow centers which are commonly provided by spaced cores mounted on the pallets. It is also customary toprovide means to fill such molds and to: spade in and agitate the concrete as it is filledinto the molds: In order to insure that the concrete blocks thus formed shall be of uniform density and strength throughout it has been found advisable to gradually fill the molds while maintaining a constant spading and agitation of the concrete during the filling of a mold or set of molds. This operation is continued until an excess of concrete has been provided over that necessary to fill the mold evenly with its top.

The excess concrete is then removed by passing some form of what is termed a slicker or stricker over the top of the mold and thus stricking off-'thisexcess. These operations can all be performed manually at a cost of much time and labor.

Machines have been devised for properly fillingsuch molds and removing the excess concrete even where it is manually spaded in and agitated but the present invention relates solely to those parts of a concrete block forming mechanism 1 whereby the spading and agitating of the concrete fed into the mold will be accomplished, no filling means or other conveyingmeans by which the mold is moved from one place to another, or the stricking means being here considered as shown, the same being well known in the art.-

It' is the principal object-oi the present invention to provide a novel form of spading and agitating mechanism which will effectively and. uniformly spade and agitate the concrete in a mold during the filling of such mold and to the end of illustrating and describing this novel and improved mechanism no mold, filling means, con veying means or stricking means will here be shown or described since the same are not necessary to a complete understanding of the invention and it maybe understood that such operations are manually performed.

A further important object of this invention is to provide a novel mechanism wherein, as the mass of concrete fed into'the mold. increases in height the spa-ding and agitating means will. gradually rise so that a. uniform packing of the.

concrete in the mold is attained throughout the: entire depth with the result thatthe produced 9 Claims. (CI. 2541) blocks shallb'e of uniform" density, weight andstrength.

Another object ofthe present invention is. to

provide a novel arrangement of' the spading means whereby, upon the-establishment of a de sired density'in a-l'ower stratum of the concrete in the mold thespading mechanismwill cease to act' on that stratum and act on the next higher stratum it being understood'that the action of the spending mechanism procee'dsupwardly by minute increments of deposited concrete.

A still further object of :this invention is tomake the mechanism easily adjustable manually toward and fromamold beneath the same;

Still further; an object ofthis invention is to provide a mechanism for this purpose wherein both the mixing andspading'meansrequire but a novel arrangementwof a single motor for their actuation;

With the above and other objects'in view asv will be presently apparent, the invention con-- sists in general of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and:

Figure 1 is an elevational viewof the invention from one direction.

Figure 2'is an elevational view at right angles to Figure l.

Figure 3 is a detail section on the line 3- -3' of Figure 1.

Figure 4" is a detail section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 isa; detail section on the line- 5-5- Mounted for vertical sliding movement on the frame members i2 is a pair of lower slide'members i4 and a pair of upper slide members l5.

These slide members are connected at their end positions bytransverse frame members H5- which.

are held inverticallyspaced relaticnbyupright frame members :t'l. The structure-dust described will be preferably termedthe lower frail eanda is Secured in each pair of collars are vertical main frame members izwhich lie par-' allel and are connectedat their upper ends by a at the time it enters.

slidable on the members l2. Above this lower frame is an upper frame provided with posts l8 supporting a platform [9.

On the platform I9 is located a motor 20 provided with current in any suitable manner (not shown) and to be understood as controlled by a switch, circuit closer, rheostat or other suitable device. These upper end lower frames carry certain mechanisms some of which, under certain conditions presently to be understood have a freedom of movement with respect to each other. To this end there is fixed on the motor shaft 2| a sprocket 22 which is connected by a drive chain 23 with a sprocket 24 which is fixed on a shaft 25 journalled in bearings 26 supported by brackets 21 fixed to the upper frame. The shaft 25 carries rocker arms 28 in the free ends of which is journalled a, shaft 29 which carries a sprocket 30 connected by a chain 3| with a suitable sprocket (not shown) on the shaft 25. Thus the shaft 29 may oscillate about the shaft 25. The shaft 29, in turn, carries a pair of arms 32 which support a shaft 33. On the shaft 33 is a sprocket 34 connected by a chain 35 with a sprocket 36 on the shaft 29. By this means the shaft 33 is driven no matter what its relation to the shaft 25. This is essential because shaft 33 moves vertically under operative conditions with respect to shaft 25. Also there is provided a yieldable connection between shafts 2| and 33 so that whatever mechanism may be actuated by shaft 34 will not rigidly be connected to shaft 25.

Y Now let us consider the mechanism to be driven from the shaft 33. On the lower sliding frame are supported pairs of guide bearings 36 alined one above the other. Through these bearings slide rods 31 connected by a crosshead 38. On the shaft 33 are mounted eccentrics 39 from which eccentric rods 40 extend to the crosshead 38. The lower ends of the rods 31 carry a spading device 4|. It will now be noted that rotation of the shaft 33 will cause Vertical reciprocation of the spading device 4|. In order to allow this spading device to rise as the mold is filled thev ends of the shaft 33 are journalled in bearings 42 which are slidably mounted on rods 43 and urged downwardly by coiled springs 44. Thus the shaft 33 may move upwardly as the mold is filled and greater resistance occurs to the spading operation. Further, in order to absorb the shock of the spading in a gradual manner so that parts be not broken there is provided a commercial form of two way shock absorber .45 connected by an eccentric rod 46 with an eccentric 41 mounted on the shaft. This arrangement checks the action of the eccentrics 39 is such manner that at no time can the spading device come down on the already packed concrete with such force as to break any part of the mechanism.

It is important that the concrete flowing into the mold in the mold filling operation should be agitated and evenly distributed. This should be, to a certain extent, independent of the spading. That is to say the agitation and distribution of the concrete entering the mold should take place Therefore, any agitating mechanism should be efiective prior to the action of the spading treatment of the concrete already deposited in the mold or, in other words, above the top of the mold. Accordingly it is not necessary to provide any means for following up the agitation and distribution as the mold is filled. With the foregoing in view, this invention provides a plurality of vertical shafts 48 journalled in bearings 49 fixed on the lower frame structure.

These shafts carry sprockets 50 around which extends a chain 50 so that the shafts rotate in unison. At the lower ends of the shafts 48 there is provided stirring arms or paddles 5|. One of the shafts 48 extends upwardly close to the shaft 25 and is then provided with a bevel gear 52 which meshes with a bevel gear 53 on the shaft 25. By this means the single motor 20 not only effects spading of the concrete but agitating and distributing the same.

In order to make the apparatus readily movable vertically into and out of operative position over a mold there is provided a cable or rope 54 one end of which is attached to a suitable eye on the motor 20. This cable is led up and over an idler pulley 55 on top of the main frame and thence laterally over an idler pulley 56 to extend down and carry a counterweight 51 having sufficient mass to make it easy to shift the entire spading and mixing mechanism vertically on the members |2.

At the start of operations the frames and parts carried thereby will be in raised position. A pallet and mold box are now positioned beneath the frame and it is pulled down until the blades 5| just clear the tops of the core blocks. The motor is then started and, as previously set forth, the concrete fed into the mold is stirred and spaded, the spader gradually rising as the concrete is compacted and resists spading. When the operation is completed the mold is removed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a concrete block machine, a frame, means supporting and guiding the frame for vertical sliding movement, a spader below said frame, rods carrying said spader, guides on the frame for said rods, means to reciprocate said rods, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

2. In a concrete block machine, a frame, means supporting and guiding the frame for vertical sliding movement, a spader below said frame, rods carrying said spader, guides on the frame for said rods, a cross-head connecting said rods, a shaft in the frame parallel to said cross-head, eccentrics on said shaft, eccentric rods connecting the eccentrics and the cross-head, means to support said shaft, means to drive said shaft, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

3. In a concrete block machine, a frame, means supporting and guiding the frame for vertical sliding movement, a spader below said frame, rods carrying said spader, guides on the frame for said rods, a cross-head connecting'said rods, a shaft in the frame parallel to said cross-head, eccentrics on said shaft, eccentric rods connecting the eccentrics and the cross-head, a second shaft, fixed journals on the frame carrying the second shaft, rocker arms extending from said second shaft, a third shaft journalled in the face ends of said rocker arms, other rocker arms extending from the third shaft and provided with journals at their free ends carrying the first shaft, means to drive said first shaft, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

4. In a concrete block machine, a frame, means supporting and guiding the frame for vertical sliding movement, a spader below said frame, rods carrying said spader, guides on the frame for said rods, a cross-head connecting said rods, a

shaft in the frame parallel to said cross-head, eccentrics on said shaft, eccentric rods connecting the eccentrics and the cross-head, means to support said shaft, means to drive said shaft, said last means including a motor mounted on the frame, gearing connecting the motor and shaft, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

5. In a concrete block machine, a frame, means shaft, a third shaft journalled in the face ends of said rocker arms, other rocker arms extending from the third shaft and provided'with journals at their free ends carrying the first shaft, other journals on the first shaft, means yieldably supporting said other journals in said frame, means to drive said first shaft, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

6. In a concrete block machine, a frame, means supporting and guiding the frame for vertical sliding movement, a spader below said frame, rods carrying said spader, guides on the frame for said rods, a cross-head connecting said rods, a shaft in the frame parallel to said cross-head, eccentrics on said shaft, eccentric rods connecting the eccentrics and the cross-head, a second shaft, fixed journals on the frame carrying the second shaft, rocker arms extending from said second shaft, a third shaft journalled in the face ends of said rocker arms, other rocker arms extending from the third shaft and provided with journals at their free ends carrying the first shaft, other journals n the first shaft, shock absorbing means yieldably supporting said other journals in said frame, means to drive said first shaft, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

'7. In a concrete block machine, aframe, means supporting and guiding the frame for vertical sliding movement, a spader below said frame, rods carrying said spader, guides on the frame for said rods, a cross-head connecting said rods, a shaft in the frame parallel to said cross-head, eccentrics on said shaft, eccentric rods connecting the eccentrics and the cross-head, a second shaft, fixed journals on the frame carrying the second shaft, rocker arms extending from said second shaft, a third shaft journalled in the face ends of said rocker arms, other rocker arms extending from the third shaft and provided with journals at their free ends carrying the first shaft, a motor mounted on the frame, a sprocket and chain connection between the motor and third shaft, sprocket and chain connections between the third,

second and first shafts, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

8. In a concrete block machine, a frame, means supporting and guiding the frame for vertical sliding movement, a spader below said frame, rods carrying said spader, guides on the frame for said rods, a cross-head connecting said rods, a shaft in the frame parallel to said cross-head, eccentrics on said shaft, eccentric rods connecting the eccentrics and the cross-head, a second shaft, fixed journals on the frame carrying the second shaft, rocker arms extending from said second shaft, a third shaft journalled in the face ends of said rocker arms, other rocker arms extending from the third shaft and provided with journals at their free ends carrying the first shaft, other journals on the first shaft, means yieldably supporting said other journals in said frame, a motor mounted on the frame, a sprocket and chain connection between the motor and third shaft, sprocket and chain connections between the third, second and first shafts, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

9. In a concrete block machine, a frame, means supporting and guiding the frame for vertical sliding movement, a spader below said frame, rods carrying said spader, guides on the frame for said rods, a cross-head connecting said rods, a shaft in the frame parallel to said cross-head, eccentrics on said shaft, eccentric rods connecting the eccentrics and the cross-head, a second shaft, fixed journals on the frame carrying the second shaft, rocker arms extending from said second shaft, a third shaft journalled in the face ends of said rocker arms, other rocker arms extending from the third shaft and provided with journals at their free ends carrying the first shaft, other journals on the first shaft, shock absorbing means yieldably supporting said other journals in said frame, a motor mounted on the frame, a sprocket and chain connection between the motor and third shaft, sprocket and chain connections between the third, second and first shafts, agitator shafts vertically journalled in said frame, agitator blades on the lower ends of said shafts, and means to drive said agitator shafts.

THOMAS B. SANSBURY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 681,715 Layne Sept. 3, 1901 1,036,139 Nolan Aug. 20, 1912 1,661,414 Dunn Mar. 6, 1928 1,723,856 Higdon Aug. 6, 1929 2,264,948 McKenzie Dec. 2, 1941 

